CLEARWATER, Fla. – Fourth-ranked Tennessee posted a perfect 5-0 mark at the 2026 NFCA DI Leadoff Classic presented by MaxBP to capture the tournament title on the opening weekend of DI softball. The Lady Vols’ run to the title included top-25 wins over No. 21 Liberty and No. 5 Oregon. UT, which won in 2023, is just the fourth program to win more than one DI Leadoff Classic joining Michigan (3), Louisiana (2) and Washington (2).
UT also defeated BYU, Rutgers and Boston College, posting three shutouts and outscoring the opposition 33-2. Lady Vol hurlers were on point all weekend (0.23 ERA, 12 H, 9 BB, 42 K, .120 opp. BA) as Erin Nuwer opened the tournament with a five-inning no-hitter against BYU and Karlyn Pickens twirled a three-hit, nine-strikeout shutout versus Oregon to close out their run. In between those outings, Nuwer and Sage Mardjetko combined on a two-hit blanking of BC. Offensively, Sophia Knight and Taelyn Holley hit .438 and .400 to lead the Lady Vols with six different UT players homering.
RV Auburn, Michigan State, South Alabama and Penn State enjoyed 4-1 weekends. The Tigers and Spartans capped off their weekends with victories. The Tigers walked-off Penn State, 4-3 and the Spartans upset No. 13 Clemson, 5-2. After a slow start to its tournament, RV Southeastern Louisiana rattled off four straight wins, including a come-from-behind 4-2 upset of No. 5 Oregon, live on the MLB Network. In the tournament finale, also on MLB Network, South Alabama walked-off Missouri, 5-4 in 11 innings thanks to a Lillie Stagner RBI single.
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Also collecting wins on the final day of the tournament were Eastern Kentucky, Rutgers, Notre Dame and Boston College. The Scarlet Knights, along with Clemson and Pitt finished with 3-2 marks. The Fighting Irish went 3-3.
Games were streamed live for free courtesy of NFCA Official Sponsor GameChanger, the sole streaming provider of the tournament. Full games and highlight clips are now available in the archives.
All-Tournament Team
Auburn University - Ella Harrison
Boston College - Emily Van Cleef
BYU - Hailey Shuler
Clemson - Sierra Maness
Eastern Kentucky - Bayle Hunnicutt
Liberty - Savannah Jessee
Longwood - Sophia Knock
Michigan State - Zoie Bernard
Missouri - Abby Carr
North Carolina Central - Madeline Janssen
Notre Dame - Rebecca Eckart
Oregon - Kaylynn Jones
Penn State - Kirsten Finarelli
Pittsburgh - Alena Ball
Rutgers - Kelsey Hoekstra
South Alabama - Ryley Harrison
Southeastern Louisiana - Shelby Morris
Tennessee - Erin Nuwer
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its competitive Leadoff Classics, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from a highly-regarded Awards Program to a comprehensive drills database, to in-person events and a National Convention.
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